Our June meeting was again  most interesting with the morning commencing with a recitation from Harry Jones of Henry Lawson’s fantastic story of “The Loaded Dog“

To make the story a lot more realistic Harry had constructed a replica of the bomb that was the cause of all the trouble after the dog had grabbed it and proceeded to terrorise all and sundry.

Very interesting, Harry, with the “lighted fuse” making it all the better; another presentation well received by the audience.

Following morning tea, our guest speaker Laura Noble gave us a most interesting talk on our Australian Native Bees of which there are more than 2000 different species, ranging in size from the very small – about 3 millimetres – to the largest, which are twice the size of the European bees that we all know well. There are 11 species that are stingless and of these, two are endemic to the Clarence Valley, although if you had been stung, you would probably be unaware that you had been. We learned that these native bees are quite restricted in their distribution, only travelling small distances from their hives, and not over open grounds, preferring a backyard type of range where they forage among flowering plants, shrubs and trees. You can encourage these great little pollinators by having a range of blossoming plants throughout the year in your own gardens.

Looking forward, we will have another interesting morning on Monday July 8 with the main speaker Bruce Lyne giving us an update on the progress of the building of the new Grafton Bridge.

To commence the day, Theresa Kelly will deliver a short presentation, “Yeah the Boys”, on the subject of male suicide prevention and Kevin Dixon will test our knowledge of Australians past with a “Who am I?” quiz.

Don’t forget that annual fees are due and that the August meeting will be the Annual General Meeting with the election of officers for the next year. There are at least two committee member vacancies to be filled, so if you fancy being involved, or care to nominate another member, go for it. Nomination forms will be available at the July Jabberfest.

We are looking forward to a great roll up and another interesting meeting. Be there at The New Life Church in Arthur Street at 10am on Monday July 8.

Brian Carter